


chuu~♡ (pretend it's for you)

by painttheworldinpastels



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, figure skating AU, somewhere in the middle it turned into a coffee shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:33:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23196334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painttheworldinpastels/pseuds/painttheworldinpastels
Summary: This and That: 2021 Four ContinentsJonathan: Hello and welcome to The Skating Session! I'm Jonathan and this is Dave, and we'll get right down to business. Was I dreaming or did I actually witness men's figure skating champion Donghyuck Lee give bronze medalist Jeno Lee a kiss on the cheek during the medal ceremony?
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 32
Kudos: 206





	chuu~♡ (pretend it's for you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaexings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaexings/gifts).



> Hello there! Would like to put some disclaimers here:  
> (1) I am not a figure skater! Rather, I am an avid fan of the sport. Due to this, there may be some inaccuracies. Feel free to let me know if there's something I can improve on!
> 
> (2) I tried to explain most of the terminologies but there are some words that I couldn't sneak an elaboration into, like flutz. A flutz is a lutz's unclear outside edge, making it look like a flip instead. What is a lutz and a flip? They're figure skating jumps! What is an edge? Idk how to explain that without turning this fic into a Skating Guide for Beginners, so I will [link](https://soyouwanttowatchfs.com/intros) you to one instead if you would like to learn more!
> 
> (3) There will be multiple pov switches! I think it's fairly easy to tell whose is what but the ☀️ emoji means we're in Donghyuck's pov, 👑 means we're in Jeno's, and the ⛸ means it is an article/podcast/blog post! Also I tried to change the font colors but I am too dumb to figure the skins out so yolo 🤠 but everything with an underline is supposed to look like a link!
> 
> (4) This is for a Valentines Day exchange! It is way past February but happy v-day to my lovelies Kerrie and Tia anyway ♡
> 
> With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy! <3
> 
> [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0nK6X9ss6KCYPBxMSdrDVm?si=knXf5G9DRb6veB-fA1_OqQ) | [playlist elaboration](https://twitter.com/whatsavotingacc/status/1240278050203258880?s=19)

crockerskating.com 

real, level-headed figure skating analysis

2021 SOUTH KOREAN FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS (mens / dance)

January 13, 2021

The Big Four Nationals (U.S., Japanese, Russian, and Chinese) may be what everyone's talking about these days, but South Korea holds gems that shine brighter and brighter each day. Held on January 8 to January 10, here's a summary of everything that went down—but first, let's take a little trip down memory road.

**The Yuna Effect**

South Korean figure skating is relatively new — its first Nationals were held in 1996*, with all of one skater competing (at least according to Wikipedia, which seems to be the most comprehensive source of Korean Nationals history there is). **Yuna Kim** appeared just seven years later, and her subsequent influence on figure skating in South Korea is undeniable. She single-handedly took a program that was just starting to crawl and got it to start sprinting. The rise was incredible, and Korea has been looking for the next Yuna since she won in Vancouver, and she didn't even retire until four years after that.

*A reader noted that Korean Nationals have been happening for 70 years. [1]

**Results**

The Lees dominate the men's senior podium. Last year's men's senior champion **Donghyuck Lee** defends his title with a grand total of 315.79 overall. He made history as the only junior to win Nationals four years in a row, and with the latest results he now has six National golds in the bag. The fourth placer at the Grand Prix Final (GPF), just two and a half points away from the podium, Donghyuck Lee is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

 **Jeno Lee** comes second after a disastrous short program with a fall on his 4T and a step-out on his 3A but followed by an impeccable free skate. Despite the rough start he pulled through with an impressive 298.21 total score, and he assures the press that he will not let his (slight) blunder weigh him down too much and that he is looking forward to the next challenge.

In third place is **Felix Lee** with his 298.03, a hair's breadth away from silver. Born in Australia to Korean parents, Felix now skates for South Korea and is happy to be here, as he's mentioned in my one-on-one exclusive with him.

New junior champ **Jisung Park** astounds with his 247.32 total, followed by **Kai Huening** 's 241.94 and **Jeongin Yang** 's 238.52 respectively.

The men singles skaters blew everyone away but the ice dancers certainly did not allow themselves to be ignored. After two years of silvers the ice dance team **Renjun Huang and Jaemin Na** finally achieved their first gold on home ice. With a whopping 223.09, they beat out former champions **Chan Bang and Changbin Seo** (217.49) and the up-and-coming **Hyunjin Hwang and Jisung Han** (214.86).

Junior ice dance is looking interesting with the victory of **Hyeongjun Song and Minhee Kang** over crowd (and federation) favorites **Dongpyo Son and Eunsang Lee** . Song/Kang racked up 163.38, 15 points over Son/Lee's shocking 148.92. With stumbles and unsynchronized twizzles, the usually sharp and consistent Son/Lee fell short and weren't able to fix their mistakes before it was too late. Bronze went to **Daehwi Lee and Woojin Park** and their total of 145.76—not bad, considering their costume deduction.

Too bad scores at Nationals aren't ratified by the International Skating Union (ISU) due to obvious bias because so many skaters earned their personal and season's bests this weekend. Truly the South Korean figure skating scene is ever evolving, and at the present we have all these stars exploding into supernovas. Since doing well at Nationals is the ticket to Worlds, 4CC, and most notably the 2022 Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing they've all done the best they could and based on what we've seen so far, they should be very proud of themselves.

**What's next?**

The Four Continents Figure Skating Championship (4CC) is the next hurdle for the skaters. After that is the World Figure Skating Championships to be held in Sweden, which will close out the season.

Training continues for the athletes. The most prominent stars of the Korean Skating Federation train at two seperate rinks both located in the heart of Seoul; Donghyuck Lee and Jisung Park both train at the Korea National Training Center, also known as Taereung, while Jeno Lee and Huang/Na train at Jincheon National Training Center. As rivalries and alliances brew, look out for the skaters' inevitable interactions.

**One last thing**

Chinese junior national champion **Chenle Zhong**? He trains at Taereung now as well.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes as he leans back on his chair. "Sheesh, that is the most dramatic recap I've ever read."

Chenle shushes him, scrolling some more until he realizes that the article ends there. "That's it? All I get is one flimsy mention?"

"Think of it this way," Jisung says as he waddles his way up the bleachers Chenle and Donghyuck are currently lounging at. "You're the cliffhanger of a blockbuster movie."

"But that means I have to wait until the end," Chenle whines. "I want to be mentioned too!"

"If it helps, you got a big chunk all to yourself in the Chinese Nationals recap."

"Yeah, but isn't the Chinese national champ—"

" _Junior_ national—"

"—moving all the way to Korea juicy news?"

Jisung groans. "Please never use the word 'juicy' ever again."

Donghyuck brushes away the pout Chenle directs him. "Lele, do I look like Hackie Wrong of Crocker Skating to you?"

Chenle leans into Donghyuck's space, eyes wide in faux innocence and his voice dripping with sweetness. "No, but in your next interview with him maybe you can mention your favorite junior—"

"Me?"

"No, not you." Chenle jokingly whacks Jisung with the iPad they were reading the Crocker Skating article on.

"So hyung," Jisung starts, "how do you feel about being Korea's Golden Boy? Literally, because they're hoping you grab gold in the big leagues, you know."

"I know." Donghyuck bites the inside of his cheek. "My strategy is that if I ignore all the expectations, then they don't exist. Ta-da."

"Does that actually work?"

Donghyuck shrugs. "Sometimes it does."

Jisung wedges his big head in between Donghyuck and Chenle. Donghyuck makes a kissy face at him and Jisung grimaces as he uses his hand to turn Donghyuck's head away. "I know I've asked before but are you really okay with the rivals narrative? You're on friendly terms with Jeno hyung, aren't you?"

"Rivals don't always equal enemies, Sungie." Donghyuck pats his head, soft and fluffy. Oh how he wishes his own hair was still like that, bouncy and not victimized by his awful habit of twisting and pulling at the strands when he's stressed. "Most of the time they're there to push you, to encourage you to improve. That's the sort of thing Jeno and I have. I think. I hope?"

Chenle snickers. "You hope?"

"We're not besties, Lele, I don't know if he can even stand the sight of me."

"But you hug a lot! You hug when you congratulate each other!"

"As a show of sportsmanship."

"Have you ever talked to him, hyung?" Chenle faces Donghyuck, knocking his head onto Jisung's. He remains unfazed as Jisung groans, rubbing at his temple. "All I've seen are the handshake and hug vids."

"We say hi when we pass by each other."

"And that's it?"

Donghyuck huffs. "Well, what else is there to talk about?"

Jisung frowns at him. "Are you sure you don't dislike Jeno hyung? You always avoid him. You turn quiet and small when he's around—I mean, you're always small, but you're not usually quiet—"

Jisung drones on, and Chenle adds his own input too, but Donghyuck zones out and all he can think of Jeno Lee and his charming eye smile and his deep voice and that beautiful mole beneath his right eye and that one time he held his hand and it was so warm and—

"Hyung?" Chenle and Jisung are staring at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Donghyuck shakes his head a bit to clear his thoughts. "Yeah."

"Are you sure? Did we upset you? We'll stop talking about Jeno hyung if you like."

Donghyuck sighs. It would probably be easier to just tell them about his six year old crush on Jeno Lee (ever since he gave Donghyuck a toothy smile and a piece of candy to cheer him up when he'd placed 2nd and Jeno 1st back during juniors) but Donghyuck has never been one to take the easy way out. He pats their heads condescendingly as he stands up to get ready when one of his coaches yell that it's his turn to practice soon and that he should start warming up. "Trust me kids, I don't hate Jeno Lee."

⛸

This and That: 2021 Korean Nationals

 **Jonathan:** _Hello and welcome to The Skating Session! I'm Jonathan and this is Dave, and today we will be discussing the hot mess that was Korean Nationals._

 **Dave:** _It was the good kind of hot mess though! Lots of things to talk about, starting off with Donghyuck Lee's last minute layout change._

 **Jonathan:** _Yes, Donghyuck Lee's original planned layout had a 4A in his free skate in place of his regular 4Lo. First landed by the phenomenal Yuzuru Hanyu, the 4A is a jump that up until now has only been done by one person—which is Hanyu. According to several reports Donghyuck Lee has been training the elusive 4A, and rumors have circulated that he has managed to get it down. However, he opted out of doing it on the day of the free skate, only a couple of hours before the competition. What do we have to say about that?_

 **Dave:** _I think it's a deliberate decision? He knows himself the best and maybe he didn't think he'd be able to do it as well as he'd like to yet; maybe he thinks it needs more polishing. But personally, if I myself was going to do a jump that I know would shock slash impress, I'd choose to do it on a larger stage than Nationals. More anticipation, more points if executed magnificently. Possibly more sponsors, if I'm lucky._

 **Jonathan:** _Can he_ really _do a 4A though? With proper take-off? Minimal pre-rotation and completely rotated, all four and a half revolutions? Good landing position, landed on one foot?_

 **Dave:** _I've seen videos of him landing the jump on Instagram, and I really do believe he can do it. Makes me wonder why he changed his mind if he'd been so brave as to put it in his planned content in the first place._

 **Jonathan:** _The Instagram vids showed him jumping it in a_ harness _, Dave. That doesn't count._

 **Dave:** _Don't be such a fuddy-duddy, Jon, they were good attempts! A bit rough around the edges but knowing Donghyuck Lee's penchant for the closest thing to perfect I'm sure he'll fix it in no time. Many people are excited to see him whip it out in competition, and I hope it happens soon._

 **Jonathan:** _Let's hope he doesn't chicken out next time then. Anyway, let's talk about programs. Of course we start off with the ever interesting Donghyuck Lee and his...intriguing short program to Caravan Palace's_ Wonderland _. It's definitely a_ choice _._

 **Dave:** _But it works! It's fun and engaging and has you tapping and clapping and dancing along._

 **Jonathan:** _I don't know...maybe his skating just really isn't my cup of tea._

 **Dave:** _Don't lie to me, I saw you wiping away tears after his free program at the GPF._

 **Jonathan:** Amélie _holds a very special place in my heart, alright? Fine, even I have to admit that Donghyuck Lee is a brilliant skater, able to balance his flair for the dramatic with just the right amount of emotion to tug at your heartstrings._

 **Dave:** _See, that wasn't so hard, was it?_

 **Jonathan:** _S_ _hut up. I do have to say that I'm not surprised he won; at the end of the day he deserves it despite the 4A confusion/fiasco/whatever you want to call it. If this was a race he's the guy that's always one step ahead, always just a little out of reach._

 **Dave:** _Let's be honest, how could anyone with Donghyuck's layout_ not _win? Two quads in the short and five in the free, that's insane._

 **Jonathan:** _Not to mention his, dare I say, generous element scores._

 **Dave:** _Now, now, Jonathan, give credit where it's due. The hike in PCS and subsequently his GOEs stem from the fact that he has made the GPF two years in a row, and the first time was during his senior debut. Though he didn't manage to medal, beating over fifty of the world's best skaters from different countries all over the world has got to count for something. Even without the PCS boost he would rack up enough tech points to make the podium._

 **Jonathan:** _Fair point, but now it's time to move on and talk about another brilliant young talent—Jeno Lee._

 **Dave:** _Jeno Lee, gosh, where do we even begin?_

 **Jonathan:** _Jeno Lee skates to_ Danse Macabre _for his short program. Definitely a piece we've heard many times before, but he brings an air of something fresh and new to it. All these youngsters taking warhorses and molding these timeless pieces of music to display their own individualities, very creative of them._

 **Dave:** _Very brave of them too. They're putting their hearts and souls out there on the ice for everyone to see—_

 **Jonathan:** _And judge._

 **Dave:** _Yes, and judge. Such bright and courageous talents, this new generation of skaters._

 **Jonathan:** _And very innovative too, using music we know and love, or sometimes hate, from all time periods, from when our ancestors clinked rocks together and called it a melody to all these TikTok tunes popular nowadays. That music score Jeno Lee uses for his free program, where is it from again?_ How to Train Your Dragon _?_

 **Dave:** _Y_ _es! I remember seeing that movie with my family the very weekend it came out. Brings back lots of good memories. It makes me feel good, you know?_

 **Jonathan:** _I'm sure your sons could name you the exact events that happened in the movie during the music scores._

 **Dave:** _Probably! They loved it so much that they asked me to buy a Blu-ray copy—this was years ago, back when DVDs were still in style._

 **Jonathan:** _Just looked it up and the movie came out in 2010, can you believe it! Where have all the days gone?_

 **Dave:** _Jon, I just noticed, all the Lees make use of nostalgia in their free programs! Donghyuck Lee with his heart-wrenching_ Amélie _, Jeno Lee and his exuberant_ How to Train Your Dragon _suite, and Felix Lee with his fun program set to the_ Spiderman _theme._

 **Jonathan:** _Felix Lee! Another podium regular._

 **Dave:** _What an abundance of magnificent talents Team Korea has! Such a shame that they only have so many spots for major ISU competitions._

 **Jonathan:** _Choosing skaters to send is definitely a going to be messy affair for the Korean fed with all this skill at their fingertips. Last Olympics they only had one spot, right?_

 **Dave:** _Indeed they did. One spot for one skater._

 **Jonathan:** _Well then, hopefully they manage to snag at least two spots during Worlds this March or else either Jeno or Donghyuck Lee will have to kiss their Olympic dreams goodbye—_

"Must you really listen to TSS, of all things?" Jeno grumbles as he plops down right next to Jaemin, who only turns up the volume in response. " _And if the promising Jisung Park claws his way into the KSU's frozen heart—heh, get it, frozen because ice skating? The fight for who gets the spots will become a bloodbath, not that it isn't already..._ "

Renjun walks towards them with a jump rope in his hand, having just finished off-ice training. Jeno looks at him pleadingly. "Won't you stop him?"

"He's not going to—Renjun loves drama," Jaemin cuts in before Renjun can even open his mouth. Renjun smacks him with the jump rope before closing the YouTube tab playing The Skating Session's podcast. "Hey, I was listening to that!"

"Not anymore."

Jeno frowns as Jaemin rubs his arm. "Aren't you bothered by how terrible TSS' commentary is? They're not exactly the nicest ones on the block."

Jaemin shrugs. "Starting shit is TSS' specialty."

"And yet you still patronize them," Jeno snorts.

Renjun nudges Jeno and Jeno apart, inserting himself in the middle. "Remember at the start of the season when they were spiteful about how," Renjun clears his throat and puts on his snobbiest tone, "'Huang and Na chose to skate to a Chinese folk song while representing Korea, the audacity of these bitches'."

"Junnie, I don't think that was the exact wording—"

"Same sentiment."

Jaemin frowns as Jeno and Renjun bicker. "But the short dance theme was folk for this season!"

"No, you dumb-dumb, their problem was that you are a Korean ice dancer who is _not_ skating to a Korean folk song when apparently it is 'a great opportunity to raise awareness for the beauty of one's culture and Jaemin Na let his partner, who skates for South Korea by the way, steer him away from showcasing his own'."

Jeno looks at Renjun in surprise. "Why do you have their script memorized?"

"I never forget the ones who wrong me."

Jaemin stands up indignantly. "My partner is Chinese! And Chinese culture deserves representation too! If people who aren't Jewish are allowed to skate to _Schindler's List_ then why is honoring the culture of someone special to you so wrong, huh? Fuck TSS!"

Renjun slaps his arm lightly with the end of his jump rope. "Why are you arguing with us? Go square up with Jonathan and Dave, you buffoon."

Jeno raises an eyebrow as Jaemin rubs his arm again, looking at the jump rope in Renjun's hand with repugnance. "Fuck TSS but you were watching them literally five minutes ago?"

"They're entertaining," Jaemin grumbles as he sits back down. "And they've got all the juicy stories! The one about Donghyuck Lee's 4A, my god I didn't know about that—"

Jeno abruptly stands from the bench they're all clustered together on. He tries to play it off cooly, mumbling something about ice time.

"Your turn isn't until after Mark and Mina's," Jaemin says as he pulls Jeno back down onto the seat. "Does the mention of Donghyuck Lee unsettle you, hmmm, Jen? If it's any consolation, I think Jonathan prefers you."

"No, it's not that, Donghyuck is a great guy. Just...the 4A."

Renjun places his hand on Jeno's knee, encouraging him to go on. "What about the 4A?"

Jeno presses his lips together tightly, contemplating whether or not he should tell. "You know...my 3A isn't very good."

From the look on Jaemin's face Jeno knows that he is considering lying to Jeno and telling him, "No, your 3A is just fine!" but Jaemin surprises him when he says, "yeah, you do kind of pre-rotate a lot on your axels.

"But," Jaemin adds quickly, "you've got a great lutz edge _and_ you can jump a quad lutz! The base values for the 4Lz and the 4A aren't that far apart, if that's what you're worried about."

"Honestly, I think the base value for the 4A should be higher because it's the harder jump but whatever," Renjun mutters beside him. Jaemin gives him a stern look before returning his gaze to Jeno's solemn one. "Look, the point is that Donghyuck Lee's 4A isn't gonna be your downfall. And you've been working on fixing your 3A! You're doing well enough, you don't need to run to catch up."

"The thing is that he doesn't feel so far away." Jeno sighs as he drops his head on Renjun's shoulder. "He never lets anyone feel like he is, you know? He's so humble and sweet and he hugs everyone at comps and he smiles at the press so brightly I think he's more blinding that the camera flashes, I feel really bad for even thinking mean things about him. I was relieved when he switched out the 4A and I was smug when he never posted a clear vid of him landing it. That's not good sportsmanship."

Renjun pats Jeno's back. "You're competitors, it's normal to feel that way. It's actually amazing that you feel sorry for doing so! Says a lot about you as a person. You're a good guy, Jeno. A great skater, too."

"And handsome too! How could someone with an affinity for ice be so hot?" Jaemin pokes Jeno's left bicep. "Look at this, Junnie! His arms! So firm and strong! And washboard abs—"

"Okay, that's enough of that," Jeno stands up again but this time he gives his friends a warm smile. "Thanks, guys."

"No prob. If our smiley puppy dog is upset then everyone's mood goes down."

"The smiley puppy dog is upset?" Mina asks as she walks into the gym with Mark in tow. "Who made cute Jen-jen sad? I'll kill them."

"No, you will not," Mark announces, motioning for Renjun to hand over the skipping rope. "If you get sent to jail I won't have a partner for 4CC."

"Then we have to make sure I don't get caught."

" _Mina_."

"Alright, I won't, don't bust a vein about it," Mina laughs, pushing Mark towards the direction of the mat. "Go start cooling down, I'll follow in a bit."

When Mark has left, Mina whispers conspiratorially, "So what have you guys been up to?"

"The usual," Jaemin says nonchalantly. "Existential crises and The Skating Session discourse."

"Ooooh," Mina lights up, "Did the boomers say anything about me and Mark?"

There's a pout on Jaemin's face as he slings an arm around Mina's shoulders. "Renjun made me turn it off before I could learn anything spicy."

Mina's nose scrunches up and she frowns jokingly at Renjun. "Boo."

"But! I read Hackie Wrong's latest article and apparently _the_ Chenle Zhong is training at Taereung now!"

Mina gasps, inching closer to Jaemin. "No way."

"Yes way! Not sure when he moved here because the article doesn't say but I really want to meet him, his spread eagle edges are so deep I feel like they're etched into my soul—"

"I see God in his flips, I kid you not..." Mina and Jaemin walk off to the side, huddled together in semi-hushed conversation.

"Well. Who's gonna tell Mark hyung his partner's gone AWOL with _my_ partner?"

"Doesn't really matter since they're done with practice anyway." Jeno clasps his hands together and shakes his legs out. "I should get out of here before Doyoung hyung starts looking for me."

"Please, even if you were an hour late Doyoung hyung would still find a way to get you ice time. Not that you're ever late, but it's a testament of his love for you."

"Are you still bitter about the Starbucks gift certificate?"

"He forgot me, I know he did! He gave everyone nicely-wrapped Christmas presents and all I got was a crisp coupon. Should've just given me 10,000 won in cash instead of in gift cert form." Renjun eyes Jeno closely. "Let's rewind though, you think Donghyuck Lee shines? Brighter than camera flashes?"

"Huh?"

"You said so earlier. You were practically waxing poetics about Donghyuck Lee. What, is he your midday sun, his smile too hot as it beats down on you, making you sweat and filling you with warmth? Is he your north star, a brilliant beacon of light guiding you in the darkness? Your—"

"Renjun, please, I'll take your gift cert and swap it with cash if you shut up right now."

Renjun grins, wide and mirthful."Pleasure doing business with you."

☀️

Another sunrise, another day of training, another morning jog, another coffee run, and another headache in the form of Park Jisung "forgetting" his wallet in his locker back at the rink.

"Thanks for the coffee, hyung!" Jisung beams at him, shaking his cup too enthusiastically for Donghyuck's liking. If it spills, he's not going to buy Jisung another one. At least, he doesn't intend to.

Donghyuck sighs as he stuffs the receipt in his pocket, clutching his own cup as they leave the pick-up counter. "Did I really have a choice?" 

Jisung's smile is hidden by the rim of the paper cup as he drinks from it. "No."

They're halfway to the door when Jisung shakes Donghyuck's elbow roughly while he was in the middle of taking a sip, causing Donghyuck to spill some of his latte onto his newly washed scarf. "Jisung!"

"Hyung. _Hyung_."

"Yes, yes, what do you want?" Donghyuck's tone is annoyed and he only grows more agitated when all Jisung does in response is chorus "hyung" over and over again. "Jisung Park, I swear to god—"

"Hyung. Look behind me. _Hyung_."

He huffs and does so and lo and behold, Jeno Lee is standing in line to order. Jeno Lee all bundled up in a long black peacoat and a pageboy hat smushed on his head. Jeno Lee with a pair of glasses placed precariously on the tip of his nose. Jeno Lee squinting at the menu board, staring at it so intensely it kind of scares Donghyuck a bit. Jeno Lee in the flesh, outside of competitions, coming in to get coffee like a normal person, like he wasn't Donghyuck's motivation to get up in the morning, like his smile wasn't Donghyuck's favorite sight.

Donghyuck pouts, sulking. That's unfair, how is he already so pretty at the break of dawn? Donghyuck probably looks like a zombie right now.

"Hyuck hyung?"

"Huh?" Donghyuck turns his attention back to Jisung, who was looking at him with concern. "We should go now," Jisung points to the door.

"Oh."

"He hasn't seen you yet, if we hurry he won't even know we were here at all."

"What, why?"

Jisung tilts his head in confusion. "Don't you hate him?"

If the coffee didn't wake Donghyuck up, Jisung's statement definitely did. "What? No, what the fuck, where'd you get that idea?"

"You were literally glaring at him just a minute ago!"

The person in front of Jeno reaches the front of the line, and Donghyuck makes a decision. "Hush, young padawan, I'll explain later. Hold this for a bit," Donghyuck lightly shoves the lukewarm cup into Jisung's hands, making a beeline towards Jeno.

He stops a couple of steps to Jeno's right, rehearsing what he's going to say. Which greeting would make him sound cooler, _hey_ or _yo_ ? Maybe _'sup_? Should he tap Jeno on the shoulder or poke his arm?

Donghyuck bites his lip. Maybe this was a bad idea. He looks like he just rolled out of bed in all his hair-sticking-up and sleep-crusted-eyes glory and he's planning to strike up a conversation with someone who looks like he just stepped out of a magazine? Maybe the staff had poured alcohol into his coffee. How else did he even have the bravery to even try—

Donghyuck holds his breath when Jeno shifts in his direction, angling his head a little higher, and he breathes out the first thing that pops into his head upon gazing at how beautiful Jeno is up close. "Wow."

That startles Jeno, and he whirls around to face Donghyuck. Donghyuck lets out a surprised squeak and then flaps his right arm around uselessly in what he hopes is an acceptable wave in an attempt to salvage a little bit of his dignity. "Hi."

"Hi." A smile dawns slowly on Jeno Lee's face, that soft smile that turns his eyes into crescents and adds crinkles at the corners and makes his nose scrunch up and—

Donghyuck clears his throat. "Hi."

"Hello, Donghyuck Lee." Jeno's voice is deep and soothing, and it helps calm Donghyuck's racing heart down. He breathes in and shoots Jeno his sunniest smile. "Good morning, Jeno Lee."

"Good morning it is." The lady in front of Jeno moves away, marking Jeno's turn to order. "Anything I can get you, Donghyuck-sshi?"

"Please, just Donghyuck. And no, me and Jisung just finished," Donghyuck motions towards Jisung, who was now sitting on a table right across them and was observing the turn of events with a sinister smile. The sight of it stirs dread in Donghyuck's stomach (and wallet). "But thank you for the offer, Jeno-ya."

"Another time, then." The cashier rings him up and Jeno rummages through his coat to find his card, but Donghyuck whips his own out quickly and gestures for the cashier to take it. Jeno frowns slightly as the cashier hands the card back to Donghyuck. Donghyuck almost reaches up to smooth the wrinkles on Jeno's forehead. Almost.

"I think I have some bills here somewhere," Jeno mumbles as he turns his pockets inside out.

Donghyuck shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, it's my treat."

"Why?"

The suspicious edge of Jeno's voice is to be expected, but it still hurts Donghyuck a little. "Can't I buy a cup of coffee for my fellow skater? Fellow national team member? My dear acquaintance?"

Jeno sighs as he picks up his coffee cup, bowing slightly to the server. There's little tendrils of hair escaping from under Jeno's hat and Donghyuck's fingers itch to tuck them back in. "Fine. Will you be here tomorrow?" 

It's Donghyuck's turn to be suspicious now. "Why?"

"So I can repay you, silly." Jeno smiles sweetly, a contrast to the black americano Jeno ordered. "What do you say?"

Here it is, Donghyuck's chance to leave a good impression. (Not that this is their first time meeting or interacting, but off-ice Jeno seems different from on-ice Jeno. Is it the decreased height due to the loss of skates? The fact that Jeno's eyes are magnified with his glasses on, pretty and doe-like, lashes seemingly elongated? Donghyuck doesn't know.) However, despite Donghyuck's attempt to sound chill and unbothered, his voice still comes out small and faint when he answers, "I'll be here."

Jeno grins, and oh, Donghyuck could go on about how endearing it is for hours. "Great! I should go though, I have practice in a few."

"Right." Disappointment crawls up Donghyuck's throat, but he'll see Jeno again at 4CC, and didn't he say to meet him here tomorrow? Donghyuck walks with him to the door, walking right past Jisung. "Have a great day!"

Jeno stops at the threshold to say goodbye. "I will, now that I've seen you." He throws a wink in Donghyuck's direction and it makes Donghyuck space out, only regaining his senses when someone behind him coughs and grumbles something about teenagers always blocking the doorways. Jeno is long gone by now, and Jisung places Donghyuck's still full cup on his head. Donghyuck scrambles to catch it before it tips over, scowling at Jisung.

"My, my, my." Jisung quips. "What have we here? Is this...potential love life?"

Donghyuck stomps away, ignoring Jisung's loud, happy chortles behind him. "The only thing we have here is the 4500 won you owe me for the coffee."

Donghyuck doesn't go to the café the next day.

Jisung looks surprised when he sees Donghyuck at practice. "Hyung? You're early. Where's my coffee?"

Donghyuck bristles. "What do you mean, 'where's my coffee'? Am I a barista now?"

Jisung's frown intensifies. "I texted you to get me a large mocha."

"And why would you do that?"

"You were going to meet Jeno hyung at the café today, weren't you?"

Yes, yes he was. Well, he was _supposed_ to, until he was overcome with a bout of—get this—shyness. A little sprinkling of shame with a dash of nervousness and insecurity and voila! He is a no show.

He didn't mean to leave Jeno hanging, but Donghyuck didn't know if he could handle another casual conversation with him when he could barely keep himself together during the last one. It's cowardly and downright rude, but hopefully Jeno lets the topic go easily when they see each other again at 4CC.

Donghyuck shrugs nonchalantly. "Too bad. No large mocha for you and no Jeno for me, though the bright side is that I did not lose 4500 won today. A win for my bank account, methinks."

Jisung rubs his nose. "I would have paid you back."

"No, you would not have."

"Touché."

The doors to the rink burst open and in waltzes Chenle, sporting two coffee cups and an amused look on his face. "Donghyuck Lee."

"Chenle Zhong."

Chenle nods at him, holding out one of the coffee cups. "Medium latte, just for you."

Donghyuck peers at him warily. "For me?"

"Yes, for you."

"What about me?" Jisung whines.

"What _about_ you?"

"Don't I get coffee too?"

"No. Hyung, take this," Chenle rattles the outstretched cup slightly, swishing the contents. When Donghyuck takes it, Chenle sets his own cup down on a flat surface nearby and whips out a stack of tissues. "Don't forget the tissue," he says as he hands Donghyuck half of the stack. Donghyuck thanks him and moves to wipe his mouth but he stops when he sees blue ink sprawling over the sheets.

On the topmost tissue sheet lies a series of numbers and a short message.

_You broke your promise :( You need to make it up to me, dear acquaintance._

_-Jeno_

"Jisung." Donghyuck raises his eyes from the makeshift note in his hands, his heart beating so hard he can hear blood rushing in his ears. "Do you want coffee tomorrow?

👑

"So. Donghyuck Lee."

Jeno groans as he removes his right skating boot first. "Please don't make a big deal out of it. And how'd you even find out?"

Jaemin pulls out his phone and dangles it precariously. "Jisung tweeted about it on his priv."

"Jisung Park has a priv?"

"You have one too, why are you so surprised?"

Jeno stops in the middle of pulling off his left boot. "Why do you have Jisung Park's private Twitter account?"

"Because he's my baby!" Jaemin throws his arms out wide, accidentally dropping his phone onto the carpeted floor. He clambers to pick it up, ignoring the giant diagonal line now marking his screen. It's a good thing that Renjun pestered him into splurging for a good screen protector. "Because he's my honeybunch, sugarplum, pumpy-umpy-umpkin, he's my sweetie pie—"

"Because he peeked at Jisung's phone during Nationals and now Jisung can't get rid of him." Renjun throws a bag in Jaemin's direction. Jaemin catches it with both hands, causing his phone to fall onto the floor again.

"That's tragic."

"What's tragic, Jisung's misfortune or Jaemin's blatant disregard for his belongings?"

Jeno gently deposits his skates into his duffel bag. "Can't it be both?"

"Good call."

Jaemin harrumphs, blowing air out of his nose. "Renjun's just jealous because I'm making friends."

"Please, Jisung and I exchanged privs a long time ago."

"And you didn't tell me?!"

"I'm literally in his followers _and_ following lists, if you bothered to check you would have found out earlier—"

"Sorry to break up this conversation," Jeno pulls his bag onto his lap, "but what exactly did Jisung Park say?"

Jaemin levels him with a solemn stare. "I regret to inform you that I cannot divulge sensitive information. When I sent my dearest Jisungie a follow request it came with the strict understanding that I would uphold confidentiality—"

"He tweeted a picture of Hyuck all bright red and blushy with the caption #justjenothings."

"Stop interrupting me—"

"Hyuck?"

"Didn't I just tell you guys to stop interrupting me?" Jaemin huffs contemptuously. Jeno pays no attention to him, holding his bag closer to his chest as he leans forward towards Renjun. "Jisung calls him Hyuck?"

Renjun nods thoughtfully. "Yeah. Sometimes he calls him Hyuckie."

Jeno smiles dreamily at nothing in particular. "That's really cute."

"Noooo," Jaemin whines, throwing himself onto Renjun with their bag still in his arms. Renjun makes a pained noise, trying to pry Jaemin off. "Jeno's so whipped he thinks the sound Goofy makes is cute."

It takes Jeno a hot minute to figure out what Jaemin means, and when he does he pushes the bag off his lap and stands up to swipe at Jaemin. Jaemin dodges Jeno's heavy hand by hiding behind Renjun, whose displeasure at being used as a human shield is very evident.

"No, wait, I'm sorry, it's kinda cute, I'll admit it!" Jaemin raises his arms above his head in surrender. Jeno glowers at him. "Look me in the eyes and tell me Donghyuck Lee _isn't_ adorable."

Jaemin gasps, placing a hand over his chest. "Are you kidding me? He's the cutest thing I've ever seen, soft and squishy and three peanuts tall."

Renjun pushes Jaemin farther away from him."Maybe you should lessen your stan Twitter usage."

"I'm serious though! And he sings well too, have you heard his covers on Twitter? In another life he could be a k-pop idol."

"I've heard him cover that one Shawn Mendes song since it was Jeno's alarm when we were overseas for Skate Canada."

Jeno splutters. "To get the Canadian skating gods to look favorably upon me! Because Shawn Mendes is Canadian! And it worked!"

"Bitch, you got silver."

"But I qualified for the final, didn't I?"

"You did. Good boy," Renjun says as he pulls out his phone. "Speak of the devil. Jisung tweeted about Donghyuck again. Publicly, this time."

"Excuse me Renjun, my son is an absolute angel—"

"Lemme see!" Jeno makes grabby hands at Renjun and Renjun slides his phone over to him. It's a picture of two people huddled together with only the tops of their heads showing. _so there's where my ipad went_ , the caption says.

"Donghyuck and Chenle Zhong are tagged in the pic," Jeno muses. "The round one is definitely Donghyuck."

"Their heads are both round though?"

"No, Donghyuck's is _rounder_ , you feel me?"

"No, Jen. No, we do not."

Jeno bites down on his cheek in thought. Renjun notices, poking his cheek to get his attention. "We're kidding Jen, we get it. Donghyuck's head is kinda like a chestnut? Or like one of those chocolate balls."

"Yeah, but that's not..." Jeno trails off and both Renjun and Jaemin look at him expectantly. He takes in a deep breath and prepares himself to be clowned. "Does Jisung...you know...like Donghyuck? Like, _like_ like?"

Renjun mulls it over a bit. "I don't think so? Donghyuck is more like a brother to him than anything."

"A brother? Not a parental figure?" Jaemin turns to look at Renjun excitedly. "So I still have a chance at custody?"

"You can't just _adopt_ him, Jaem—wait, no, back to the question that Jeno has so skillfully avoided answering earlier," Renjun folds his arms across his chest, "Donghyuck Lee?"

Jeno sighs. "That's more a statement than a question, actually. But yes, I bumped into Donghyuck Lee and Jisung Park in that coffee shop three blocks away from Jincheon. The one with the cute latte art? Donghyuck and I have been meeting there every morning for maybe a week now. Any other questions?"

Renjun peers at him carefully. "Possible romance?"

"Too soon to say," Jeno picks up his duffel bag just as Jaemin picks up his and Renjun's, getting ready to stretch a bit before leaving the rink. "We'll have to see about that."

"But maybe?"

Images flash in Jeno's mind, all centered around Donghyuck. Donghyuck grinning at him as he hands his card over before Jeno can even bring out his own. Donghyuck's bangs falling into his eyes and him pushing them away aggressively. Donghyuck's lockscreen being a selfie Chenle and Jisung took on his phone. Donghyuck with whipped cream on the tip of his button nose after taking a sip of the occasional frappe he orders. Donghyuck, sweet, cute, talented Donghyuck.

Jeno tries to hide the bashful smile forming on his face. "Yeah, maybe."

"Hey guys."

Renjun and Jeno hum as they exit the rink, waiting for Jaemin to continue. Jaemin doesn't say anything else so they turn to see him patting himself down, face distraught. "Did you see where I put my phone?"

☀️

"Ah, Australia, my new favorite place in the world!" Jisung flops onto the hotel mattress and it throws him upwards, causing him to squeal in glee. "Their beds are so nice."

Chenle sits down on the bed beside Jisung's, surprised by how springy it is. "Hyung, can I take the bed by the window?" Chenle yells out to Donghyuck, who was taking a photo of the view from the balcony. It's dusk by the time they get to the hotel and the colors of sunset still remain in the horizon, dark blue hues slowly creeping in with a sprinkling of stars.

Donghyuck walks back inside the room as soon as he gets decent shots, closing the glass doors of the balcony behind him. "Get off that bed then. I'll take that one."

Chenle immediately rises and jumps on the bed closest to the wide window, burrowing under the covers. "Goodnight, guys."

"Chenle, you need to eat dinner first before you sleep."

"Mmmm."

"Chenle?"

Chenle doesn't reply, eyes closed and features relaxed. Jisung frowns down at him. "Should we wake him up?"

Donghyuck considers it, he really does, but Chenle looks so angelic like this, cheek pressed against the pillow and his mouth slightly open. Jisung lets out a yawn beside him and Donghyuck follows suit. The plane ride must have drained them more than he thought.

"He didn't sleep on the plane, we should let him rest for a bit. I'll bring up some snacks in case he wakes up later." Donghyuck nudges Jisung slightly. "Dinner, then we wash up, and then we can sleep until we have to go for morning practice. Okay?"

Jisung nods, already composing a message to Chenle for if he wakes up and finds the room empty. "Okay."

"Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!"

"Oi, oi, oi!"

Donghyuck hisses for Chenle and Jisung to quiet down as they enter the practice rink, and Jisung pouts at him. "But hyung, it's tradition!"

"Can we honor tradition when it's not ass-o-clock in the morning?"

"Oooh, Hyuckie hyung's grumpy without his coffee," Chenle taunts. "Or maybe it's because he hasn't seen Jeno Lee yet?"

"Shut up—"

"Jisungie!" The cry comes from the left side of the rink, and Jisung tenses up. He groans as someone launches themselves on him, and he struggles to stay upright with the force of the impact. "Hi, Jaemin hyung."

"Hi baby," Jaemin coos, capturing Jisung's face between his hands. "Did you eat breakfast today?"

"Yes, hyung. Did you?"

"Awwww, Jisungie cares about me! Yes I did," Jaemin answers Jisung in a voice so sugary-sweet. When he finishes doting over Jisung, he moves on to introducing himself to Chenle. "Chenle Zhong, it is an absolute pleasure to be in your presence."

Chenle smiles at him, taking the hand Jaemin extends towards him and shaking it. "Likewise, Jaemin Na. I'm a fan."

"No way." Jaemin looks ecstatic at Chenle's declaration. "I've been in love with your skating ever since your debut on the Junior Grand Prix circuit! I remember your _You Raise Me Up_ free program, oh my god you were so tiny back then..."

"Hi." Donghyuck hears Jeno before he sees him in all his sleeveless glory, and he almost keels over when his eyes go over Jeno's biceps.

"Hi," he manages to reply weakly. "Oh," Donghyuck perks up when he sees the penguin plushie tucked under Jeno's arm. "It's Mumble!"

Jeno smiles shyly at him, handing the plushie over to Donghyuck. "You remember him?"

"How could I not when he looms over all of us on the regular?" Donghyuck squishes the penguin's head. "Mumble must be so old now."

"He's almost seven years old," Jeno tells him.

"Is that a penguin toy?" Chenle approaches them, and Donghyuck looks for Jeno's approval before gently dropping Mumble into Chenle's waiting arms. "It's so cute!"

"That's Mumble," Jisung butts in. "He's Team Korea's unofficial guardian."

"I'm sorry?"

"Mumble is my lucky charm," Jeno explains. "My coach, Doyoung Kim, gave him to me when I told him I wanted to do a _Happy Feet_ exhibition skate when I was, what, fourteen? I bring him to all my competitions, and sometimes to official practices as well. He stays on the boards and gives the whole team strength."

"Isn't that kind of creepy though? Not that you're creepy!" Chenle backtracks. "But haven't you ever heard of stuffed toys or dolls coming to life like in those horror movies and...uh..." Chenle waves his hands around. "I don't know, stabbing us with the skate blades?"

"Mumble is a good soul," Renjun says, coming up behind Chenle to lift Mumble from his hold. "You should be more scared of Jeno, really. Mumble went missing once and when we found out a spectator took it, Jeno got them banned from all competitions."

"Oof."

"Oof, indeed." Renjun returns Mumble to Jeno and runs a hand through Chenle's hair. "You need a haircut, Lele, you won't be able to see anything at this rate."

Chenle beams at him. "Hi, Renjun."

"That's Renjun _hyung_ to you while we're in Korea, you brat."

"Whatever. I saw your rhythm dance—" Jaemin hits Renjun's arm in excitement and Renjun brushes him off, "—and I really liked the music cuts. A little bit of your roots to keep you grounded in a foreign land, I see."

"Did you like it, Chenle?" Jaemin asks, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, that lift you do at the end is super cool!"

Renjun snickers half-heartedly. "Just the one at the end?"

"If you were nicer to me I'd give you a whole essay on why your short dance to _Purple Bamboo Medley_ and...what was that other music cut?"

" _Rising Higher Step by Step_."

"Right. I'd write a whole article on how that is a cultural masterpiece and post it on my blog."

Jaemin gapes at him. "You have a blog?"

Chenle nods. "skatingstarchenle.tumblr.com."

"Wasn't it musicstarchenle before?"

"Yes, well, now I'm _skating_ star Chenle. Suck it up."

"You could have kept the music star name since you usually skate to your own vocals."

"My _Hey Jude_ cover, one of my favorites. The Beatles would be proud." Chenle smiles to himself. "But enough about me, let's start warming up, shall we?"

"We shall." Renjun loops his arm through Chenle's. "You didn't tell me you moved to Korea."

"It was supposed to be a surprise! Surprise," Chenle says, doing jazz hands with a flourish.

Renjun pouts. "Why didn't you opt to train at Jincheon though?"

"I don't like seeing your face."

"Lele, I _will_ deck you." Renjun and Chenle walk ahead of everyone, with Jaemin and Jisung close behind. Donghyuck and Jeno trail at the back, cradling Mumble between them as if Mumble was a small child. "Have you ever thought about getting a penguin tissue cover?" Donghyuck asks. "To keep the theme."

"Nah, just Mumble is enough." Jeno's eye smile makes an appearance, stretching gently over his face. "This is enough."

Donghyuck looks down at their hands, the backs brushing against each other's. The brief press of Jeno's skin sends tingles down Donghyuck's spine, and he thinks that maybe _this_ is enough as well. For now.

👑

"Jeno." Doyoung calls out from the boards during the middle of his practice run, and Jeno scurries over to him. "Something wrong, hyung?"

"Not really, but could you try smiling a bit? And could you also try not ogling Donghyuck Lee?"

Jeno's face turns cloudy, and Doyoung reaches over to smooth the wrinkles on his forehead away. "Jeno, no, don't do that. You're not helping your case here, sweetie."

"What case?"

"Jeno, sweetheart. There's photographers, media people, and figure skating fans here, and they're all whispering about how you're angry at the other Lee because you keep staring at him so intensely."

"Oh." Jeno schools his expression into something more neutral. "Better?"

"Much better, thank you." A playful smile forms on Doyoung's face. "Now try to keep from fawning over him."

Jeno scratches the back of his neck, and he feels the tips of his ears heat up. "That can't be helped, unfortunately."

"I suppose not." Doyoung laughs lightly, tapping at Mumble's head like a bongo drum. Jeno looks at him with an unimpressed look until he rolls his eyes and removes his heavy hand from Mumble. Jeno places Mumble a bit farther from Doyoung as Doyoung sighs at him. "Just refrain from glaring at him and you should be fine."

"I wasn't glaring at him!"

"Well, it's either you were glaring at him or you're positively mesmerized by him." They both watch as Donghyuck completes a flying split spin before launching straight into his step sequence, feet light as he glides on the ice. "Pick your narrative."

They continue watching Donghyuck until he ends with a scratch spin. He notices the gazes on him and waves in Jeno's direction, and Jeno flushes as he scrambles to wave back lazily so it doesn't seem like Jeno was watching him the whole time. "But who isn't mesmerized by him, really?" Jeno complains as he faces Doyoung again.

"True, but you are wasting your ice time by staying by the boards—"

"You called me over!"

"Well, I do not require your attention anymore. Go practice. Try a 3A before getting off the ice, okay?"

"Got it, coach."

"And smile at Lee a bit. That would give you bonus points with both Lee and everyone else here."

Jeno splutters. "Why would I want bonus points from Lee?"

Doyoung sighs tiredly. "Jeno, my darling child, I've known about your little crush on Donghyuck Lee ever since you suggested skating to _Let It Go_ because he was doing a song from _Frozen_ too. Now get back out there before official practice ends or I'll squish Mumble so hard you won't be able to recognize him because of how deformed he is."

Jeno's phone pings as he exits the restroom and he frowns down at the screen when he sees the text Jaemin has sent him.

 _markmina just landed so we're picking them up at the airport!!!_ 🛬🥳 _go back to the hotel without us, we'll be back by dinner xoxo love u jen mwah_ 😚😘🥰❤

"Something wrong?" Donghyuck asks as he approaches Jeno. He shows Donghyuck Jaemin's message, trying his hardest to not look like a petulant child, and Donghyuck pats his shoulder kindly. "Do you want to grab lunch with us?"

"Sounds great, thank you." When Chenle and Donghyuck start moving towards the doors, Jeno notices someone missing from the Taereung Trio. "Isn't Jisung coming?"

"Nope, he's got an interview with SBS Sports," Chenle announces. "If he doesn't mention how incredible his new rinkmate is I'm going to change the password to my Netflix subscription so he can't leech off me anymore." Chenle lets out a huff of exasperation. "Why won't anyone ever interview _me?_ I'm sociable and charming! And cute! Very cute!"

"Because Coach Dong looks too scary to approach and Coach Qian is too nitpicky with the info they're willing to let you dole out." Donghyuck pushes the glass doors open and they're met with a cold breeze, making Jeno zip his puffy jacket all the way up.

"No, hyung, Sicheng-ge's just a dork in a modelesque body! So is Kun-ge! I'll probably have to ask them to chill with the guard dog attitude, though."

"In their defense, there's always something fishy about you promising to be good and well-behaved for anything. There's chaos somewhere in that equation, hidden in that cute baby face of yours."

"I'll interview you," Jeno interjects as Chenle's face morphs into a look of disguised despair. "We could set up something like a Taereung times Jincheon vlog, documenting our skating adventures and whatnot. Exclusive interviews included, of course. And we could post them on your Tumblr if you like, or on Renjun and Jaemin's YouTube channel."

"Jeno Lee. Jeno hyung. I love you the mostest."

Donghyuck harrumps, walking slightly ahead. "You said I was your favorite hyung."

"Not anymore, it seems." When all Jeno's response does is make Donghyuck walk faster away from them, Jeno lets out a low chuckle and jogs to catch up with him. "I'm kidding, Donghyuck."

"I know," Donghyuck answers lowly. "I just like seeing Chenle all affectionate. It's not everyday that I get to experience that. Wait for it," Donghyuck winks at him and schools his expression into a blank stare as Chenle runs up to them, a little out of breath. "Hyung, I was joking!" Chenle tries to drape himself over Donghyuck but Donghyuck brushes him off jokingly. Chenle whines and tries again. "I'll treat you to lunch!"

"Very well, my babiest baby whom I love the mostest," Donghyuck immediately says, encircling his arms around Chenle and keeping him in a loose headlock. Chenle lets out a yowl and Jeno watches it all in stride, beaming as the two muck around. Perhaps being accidentally left behind because he was taking too long in the washroom would be a good thing after all.

Chenle chomps on a handful of fries. "So Jisung's foot was stuck in that hole in the bleachers, right? I tried to call Hyuck hyung but he was busy doing an Instagram question answering segment like he was some sort of superstar—"

" _You_ were the one who told me to do one!"

"So Jisung tries to pull his foot out and what happens?"

Jeno takes a bite of his burger. "What happened?"

"He pulls and pulls and _pulls_ until he gets his foot unstuck but his shoe, which he doesn't tie properly because kids these days don't know how to tie shoelaces now apparently—"

"He's literally only three months younger than you—"

"His shoe falls off and lands all the way down, down, _down_ to a corner that no man's arm can reach!" Chenle spreads his arms wide, knocking his soda cup. It wobbles and Donghyuck steadies it as fast as he can, glaring at Chenle.

"So he walks around the rink with only one shoe on until Hyuck hyung's braincells start working and he offers Jisung a pair of slippers he's got stashed in his locker, around four hours after Jisung loses his shoe."

"Was it an expensive shoe?"

Chenle rolls his eyes. "Park Jisung doesn't wear knockoffs."

"He doesn't wear knockoffs but he sure doesn't care about giving them out," Donghyuck cuts in. He turns to look at Jeno. "Have you seen that Jansport bag Mark hyung's been carrying around for years?"

"The one he refuses to replace even though the zipper broke off at least thrice last year?"

"Probably that one! It was a Christmas gift from Jisung before Mark yeeted off to train in Toronto with Mina." Donghyuck leans over the table as far as he can, the sleeves of his coat coming dangerously close to the ketchup. "Jisung got it for super cheap at a bargain sale from a stall selling fake Guccis. So there you go."

"Does Mark know?"

Donghyuck brushes salt off of his fingers. "I don't think so? Don't tell him though. I doubt he cares, but we'll let him believe fifteen-year-old Jisung Park splurged on him."

"But Jisung Park never splurges on anyone! Not even himself."

"I know, Lele, I buy his coffee every morning," Donghyuck turns to face Chenle. "That's what makes Mark hyung think he's special. And because of that reasoning, he buys Jisung—and subsequently us—nice things."

"Isn't that kind of evil?"

"Oh, my sweet summer child." Donghyuck pats Chenle's cheek. "Soon you will find out that all of Team Korea are chaotic evils. Well, everyone except Jeno. Jeno is chaotic neutral. Right, Jeno?" Donghyuck looks at him and his face transforms from mischief to worry. "Jeno? Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You kinda spaced out there, bud." Chenle takes a fry off of Jeno's side of the tray. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

Jeno peeks at Donghyuck, who sends Chenle a disapproving look. _He's cute. Little button nose scrunching up. Full lips forming a sulky pout. Adorable. Let me pat his head_. "Nothing much."

Donghyuck bites the inside of his cheek. "I'm sorry, is this boring? We can go somewhere else after if you'd still like to hang with us—"

"No! No, it's not boring. Yes, I would like to hang. Hang out. Chilling." Jeno's brain is yelling _STOP TALKING!!!_ in all caps and with a bajillion exclamation points, but Jeno's mouth doesn't seem to get the memo. "Hehe, get it, chilling? Because ice. Skating."

Donghyuck chuckles slightly, an angel's laugh. "We get it. That's cute."

"No, that is not cute. Not funny," Chenle opposes. He turns to look Jeno in the eye. "Jeno hyung, you have the lamest sense of humor I have ever heard."

"I like that," Chenle continues when Jeno opens his mouth to apologize. "You should keep him, Hyuckie hyung," he says offhandedly, making Donghyuck go all red in the face. And neck. And the tip of his ears. _Cute._

Donghyuck splutters. "Why don't _you_ keep him?!"

"I think he likes you better, though?"

"Don't be ridiculous..." The rest of their conversation flies past Jeno as he notices someone in the corner with a DSLR taking either pictures or videos of them, Jeno doesn't know. What Jeno _does_ know is that the camera's presence isn't appreciated, and he glares at the owner until they get the hint and put the camera away.

"Jeno?" Chenle waves a hand in front of Jeno's face. "You sure like spacing out, don't you?"

"Sorry, someone was recording us." Jeno says nonchalantly, like being watched isn't that big of a deal. Maybe it wasn't; after all, they've been watched by so many eyes for such a long time now that it doesn't seem out of the ordinary anymore. "But I really am sorry for being unattentive."

"No worries. But you might want to take a look at this," Chenle says, sliding his phone over to Jeno. A tweet is on display by someone with an Eteri Tutberidze profile pic and there's a picture of the three of them laughing over their pile of now soggy french fries. The caption reads, _guys!!! I am literally in the presence of fs royalty rn!!!_

There's a reply underneath it from the same account, this time featuring only Jeno and Donghyuck. Donghyuck's face is turned away from the camera, probably talking to Chenle, and Jeno is shamelessly staring at him. Jeno feels annoyance burn brighter than mortification at being caught when he reads this tweet's caption. _jeno lee really hates donghyuck doesn't he lmaooo_

Jeno looks back towards the camera wielder from earlier, and they lower their gaze down to the phone in their hands. Another tweet appears in the replies. _guys omg jeno lee is looking at me!!! my one (1) accomplishment in life_

Jeno scowls and stands up but Donghyuck grabs hold of his wrist and tugs downwards. "Let them go," he says as the mystery tweeter swiftly gets up and leaves, walking as far away from the trio as the space allows.

Chenle takes his phone back and tsks bitterly, typing something rapidly. "Hi guys! Please respect our privacy, smiley face, send tweet." Chenle puts his phone down afterwards. "Ugh, some fans are even worse than the media."

"Why is the Jeno-and-me-hating-each-other narrative so popular, anyway?"

"Maybe because Jeno hyung is always looking at you—"

"Whatever the reason," Jeno cuts in, "it's not true." He looks at Donghyuck pleadingly. "It's not! You're a great person."

The blush is back on Donghyuck's cheeks when he reciprocates Jeno's words. "I think you're a great person too. Really cool. Get it? Cool?" Chenle groans as Donghyuck lets out a hearty laugh. "Hyung, no, I hate this, I hate it here."

"Finish the mountain of fries you ordered before you complain about anything. They'll go to waste at this point."

"Anyway," Chenle diverts the conversation away from his extravagant spending on too many fries, "Maybe it would be easier to pretend you guys were like, dating or something. So the whole 'aw-you-know-he's-a-great-guy-but-I-don't-talk-with-him-much' thing can be chalked up to you two wanting to keep your relationship lowkey and private."

Donghyuck and Jeno exchange unimpressed looks and Chenle waves his hands around, just narrowly missing his soda cup. Donghyuck moves it away as a precaution. "Think about it! You're both hot and single and you'd look cute together! I can imagine Lotte booking you two for a Valentines' Day shoot, chocolates in your mouths as you stare fondly at each other. See! Couple advertisement deals! And a textmate! Hyuck hyung, you keep whining about having no one to message—"

"Because you and Sungie never reply to me—"

Chenle slams his hands down on the table, making the formidable pile of french fries scatter all over the tray. "See! If you and Jeno hyung date you have someone to text good morning or good night or 'have you eaten' or 'how do you like your eggs in the morning'. And Jeno hyung!" Chenle's eyes shine brightly under the fluorescent lights. "If the other hyungs are busy you have someone to talk to or to accompany you! You can go on fun adventures! Donghyuck hyung can pay!"

"Suddenly I'm an ATM?"

"Isn't that amazing? It's genius! This plan is a win-win on all sides!" Chenle looks so pleased with himself and Jeno can't bear to burst his bubble, so Donghyuck does it for both of them. "Lele, not to ruin your cupid fantasies but that sounds like a trainwreck waiting to happen."

"But it'll be a fun trainwreck! And what's the harm? You don't even have to do anything except issue a statement that you're taken and he's taken and that you're taken by each other!"

"Or we could just pretend this convo never happened. That sounds fun, right Jeno?" Jeno is about to nod aggressively when Chenle reaches over to press a finger each to both of their mouths.

"Listen to me. _Listen_." Chenle's voice takes on a calming edge, almost like he was trying to hypnotize them into doing his bidding. "This is a good idea. It is a logical idea. It is a profitable idea. You could ask your coaches and they'd agree. You could ask Twitter—should I do it? Should I post a cryptic Team Korea dating rumor tweet and see how many people reply with _omg jendong_?"

"Jendong?"

"It's your ship name! It's the more popular term in Korea. International fans call you Nohyuck."

Jeno is intrigued. "Do they have ship names for the others, too?"

"Renjun and Jaemin hyungs are either Renmin or Jaemren, whichever people feel like using at the moment. Mark and Mina are, well, Markmina, and me and Jisung are called Chensung, though personally I prefer Chenji. There's ship names for our coaches too, but let us all remember that ships are just fun and games and cute ways to appreciate friendships.

"However," Chenle doesn't let either of them get a word in, "if S.S. Jendong sails figure skating stan Twitter will not only lose their shit, they will also stop scrutinizing your every interaction." Chenle leans back in his chair, looking satisfied. "With these arguments I rest my case. Please fake date and give me a cut of the revenues once you start getting couple cf deals."

"Ah, so _that's_ your hidden agenda."

"Hyuck hyung, I don't share my wisdom for free. Now what do you say?"

The pros are very enticing, and Donghyuck gives in first. "Fine, but only because you keep insisting. And only if Jeno agrees."

Jeno doesn't even bat an eye. "Yeah, I'll do it."

Donghyuck whips his head towards Jeno so fast he's worried it might have hurt. "Really?"

"Yeah." Jeno shoots him a bashful smile. "But only if you want to. Sounds low maintenance and there are lots of perks to it. And Chenle Zhong happens to be a very persuasive negotiator."

"He is." Donghyuck grins at Jeno, bright and sunny, and it leaves Jeno dazed for a while. "That's settled then. Fake boyfriends."

"Great! Now everyone say 'Chenle Galaxy Brain'."

Donghyuck scoffs as he pushes the tray towards Chenle. "Chenle, please finish your fries."

⛸

This and That: 2021 Four Continents Championship

 **Jonathan:** _Hello and welcome to The Skating Session! I'm Jonathan and this is Dave, and we'll get right down to business. Was I dreaming or did I actually witness Donghyuck Lee give Jeno Lee a kiss on the cheek during the medal ceremony?_

 **Dave:** _Yes, yes you did. Moving forward with_ actual _business, the results of this year's 4CC is nothing short of a surpri—_

 **Jonathan:** _And they were stuck to each other like glue during the gala!_

 **Dave:** _Friends do that, Jon. I remember accompanying you all the way to the restrooms back in the day._

 **Jonathan:** _Yes, well, but there were no cheek kisses!_

 **Dave:** _Did you_ want _cheek kisses?_

 **Jonathan:** _God, no, not from you. I'm telling you, there's something going on here! Love is in the air in the Korean Skating Federation!_

 **Dave:** _Alright, moving on—_

 **Jonathan:** _Are you seriously ignoring this?_

 **Dave:** _Let's let Jonathan calm down from his shipper fantasies—_

 **Jonathan:** _Enemies to lovers, can you believe—_

 **Dave:** _And go on straight to the results. As expected, Donghyuck Lee fetched gold with 310.34, just a little bit below his score at Korean Nationals, while Jeno Lee follows close behind with 300.79, his new personal and season's bests—_

 **Jonathan:** _The rivalry! Imagine the friendly competition that's been happening all this time, right under our noses! And we all assumed the worst in their relationship, oh my god Dave I feel so bad…_

"You've done it now, Jen," Renjun claps Jeno on the back as he bends down to tie his boot laces. "You've broken Jonathan Beyer."

"Huh?"

"The Skating Session's latest podcast," Jaemin supplies helpfully, ambling towards them with a mischievous smile. He nudges Renjun lightly before turning to grin maniacally at Jeno. "I told you Renjun likes drama, he found out way before I did."

Renjun pushes Jaemin with his hip and Jaemin dramatically collapses on the ground, groaning about non-existent pain. Renjun ignores him in favor of scrutinizing Jeno. "So, you and the rival, huh?"

"Are you really playing into the media games—"

"For all intents and purposes, being pitted against each other makes you rivals. Back to my question, you and Donghyuck?"

Jeno scratches his neck. "Yeah, me and Donghyuck."

"Since when?" Jaemin pipes up from where he now lounges on the floor, head propped up in the palm of his hand.

"Um. Since 4CC?"

"How did it happen?"

"He just asked, I guess?"

"What did he say, exactly?"

"Don't you two have to practice?" Jeno points towards the rink, which has just finished getting resurfaced. The zamboni whirs softly as it departs from the ice, capturing the attention of some of today's visitors—guardians of the new kids and skating moms chatting over cups of coffee from the vending machine.

"Give us a couple of minutes to chill, Jen. Did you turn into Coach Jung overnight?"

"Does 'chilling' happen to encompass incriminating my personal life? Because I'm sure 'chilling' means leaving Jeno alone."

"We will! After we get our answers." Renjun sits down on a nearby bench and pats the space beside him. "Come on, Jen, talk to your besties for the resties."

Jeno sits down hesitantly. "There's not really much to tell, it's all really recent. He's nice. He's cute. Really kind. He likes lattes. That's pretty much it."

"That's not interesting at all," Jaemin whines. "Haven't you two started getting to know each other?"

"We have! But it's a slow process considering we're both busy and all, preparing for Worlds and such."

"Ah, yes, Worlds. How could we forget when Jaehyun hyung reminds us everyday."

"Chins up, guys," Jeno tries to lift the mood. "You're the ones taking the one spot we have for ice dance, and if you're in the top ten you'll earn us two spots for next year!"

"Don't you have any faith that we'll make the top two and bring home three?"

Jeno rolls his eyes. "Please, the ISU loves to fuck small feds over."

"That is true. Which is why we should get back to practice," Renjun announces as Coach Jung waves at them from the boards on the opposite of their current side. "See you in a bit, Jen."

"See you," Jeno echoes as Renjun and Jaemin remove their skating guards and step on the ice, leaving Jeno alone with his thoughts.

"How do we do this?" Donghyuck asks over the phone that night. "Do you have any likes or dislikes? Any aversions to skinship and public displays of affection? Pet name preferences?"

Jeno mulls over it for a while. "Not really. Do you?"

"Nope. So you won't mind if I call you honeybun?"

Jeno scowls. "On second thought, I do happen to have a couple of reservations."

"How about babycakes?"

"Donghyuck, I'm literally that 'softly: don't' meme right now."

"Sweet pea?"

"I hate peas."

"Well, you can't be bitter about perfectly cute nicknames and be an unhealthy veggie hater. Pick a struggle."

"I'll have you know I spend at least ten hours a week at the gym," Jeno defends himself indignantly. "I am a very healthy person."

"Yeah, I know, you've got the muscles to show for it, big guy. The capital b biceps and boobies are very prominent in your costumes."

"Oh?" Jeno smirks. "You stare at my muscles, Donghyuckie?"

"Anyway," Donghyuck says immediately, pitch a little too high, "I'm a very touchy person, are you alright with that? I'll tone down the PDA if you like."

"No, it's fine. Are we talking about hand-holding or hugs or kisses?"

"All of the above?" There's a lengthy pause, and Jeno begins to think that Donghyuck has fallen asleep when Donghyuck breathes out, "I like cuddles too."

His voice is soft, and it makes Jeno smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. But that's too TMI."

Jeno's smile widens as he leans back on his bed. "Feel free to share your TMIs with me. We're supposed to be dating, after all."

"Noted." Donghyuck lets out a yawn, and Jeno follows suit. "We should probably end the call now."

"We should. I'm gonna be at the café quite early tomorrow and I'll get you a drink so you don't have to line up. Iced vanilla latte, right?"

"Um, I've got to be at the rink before 6 tomorrow for a briefing. I'm sorry, Jeno."

"Don't be! I understand."

"And, well, you see..." There's an awkward pause over the line until Donghyuck breaks it. "I'm not exactly a latte every day kind of person."

Jeno starts chewing on his lip. "I see. I'm sorry, you always order lattes when we're there so I assumed—"

"No worries! I like lattes, I really do! But I only like them cold and it's getting really chilly here so I've started reverting back to hot chocolate."

"Got it. See you tomorrow, Donghyuck?"

"See you! Goodnight, Jeno."

"Night, Hyuck."

Jeno has just finished with his skincare routine when his phone lights up with a text from Donghyuck. _hyuck? ;)_

Jeno feels his heart stop momentarily. Did he say that? Was he allowed to say that? _i'm sorry, is calling you that weird?_

Donghyuck replies a couple of seconds after.

_no!!!_

_not at all!!!_

The next reply comes a much later, right when Jeno tucks himself into bed. _i like it._

_i'll keep calling you that then. that can be your pet name_

_what about you? your pet name?_

Jeno's fingers dance on his screen, his next words almost automatic. _you can call me whatever you like._

_sprinkles? frosting? sugar bomb?_

_...ignoring u now. goodnight hyuckie._

_goodnight baby, sweet dreams <3 _

Jeno blushes as he types out one last message. _baby? is that my pet name now?_

_idk baby, do you want it to be? ;)_

_stop being sleazy at midnight_

_oof, it's midnight!!! i didn't realize haha, goodnight for realsies jeno baby_

_goodnight for realsies my sunny hyuckie_

_oh i like that one!!! it rhymes hehe_

_go to sleep donghyuck istg_

The very next morning, Jeno wakes up bright and early. He doesn't have practice until later in the day but he's a man on a mission, hell bent on getting Donghyuck a nice warm cup of cocoa before his practice starts. He marches over to Taereung with all the swagger he can muster but his confidence goes out the door when he finally reaches the Korea National Training Center. Jincheon is newer and shinier, with better facilities and lots more space, but the name of Taereung still begets respect for how she has housed and nurtured some of Korea's best athletes and continues to do so to this day.

He shuffles awkwardly in front of the glass doors until the security guard ushers him in. He peeks into every closed door, searching until he comes across a familiar head of fluffy hair. "Hey."

"Hi." Donghyuck beams at him, cheery and warm. The big smile on his face makes Jeno feel warmer than the cup in his hands. Speaking of which.

"Here," he takes Donghyuck's hands and wraps them around the cup. "I got you something. Hot chocolate, steaming and piping hot. I recommend you let it cool down for a while so you don't burn your tongue."

"I will, thank you Jeno." Donghyuck burns red but Jeno doesn't know if it's because of him or because of the heater in the facility increasing the temperature as they speak. He sheds his jacket to reveal a shirt he'd cut the sleeves off of, and Donghyuck averts his eyes. "Do you have practice soon?"

"Just some morning laps." He hates jogging. "Happened to pass by the café and thought of you." The coffee shop is a twenty minute walk away from Jeno's place.

"That's really nice of you, Jen. Thank you. It's really sweet. Best boy. You. You're the best boy, I mean." Donghyuck starts rambling, going on about how Jeno should sleep in instead of playing butler, pointedly refusing to look at Jeno's arms. It amuses Jeno, so he starts stretching when Donghyuck takes a sip of his hot choco. His shirt rides up and his muscles contract, and Donghyuck promptly chokes on his drink.

"You okay?" Jeno asks when Donghyuck has set the cup down and hacked out most of the liquid from his airway.

"Fine. Great. A-okay. Peachy." Donghyuck coughs a couple more times. "Jesus, you're going to kill me."

"The name's Jeno, but I appreciate the compliment."

"Shut up." Donghyuck's disgruntled expression transforms into a look so tender that it makes Jeno want to melt into a puddle on the floor. "You shouldn't have gone through all this trouble for me, though. I feel kinda bad for making you trudge all the way here in this weather."

Jeno shakes his head. "It's no trouble at all. I could do this for you everyday if you like." _Please say no goddammit, the line was extra long today._

They hear a happy squeal from behind them and they turn around to see Jisung with his hands covering his mouth. "Sorry about that, please continue on with whatever cute coupley things you were gonna do! I'm sorry, did I ruin the moment? Were you guys gonna hug? Or maybe—" he gasps loudly and Donghyuck lets out a groan— "kiss?"

Donghyuck glowers at him. "Go back to practice, Sungie."

"You agreed to switch schedules with me, remember? You first."

"Right." Donghyuck sighs exaggeratedly. "I better get going."

"I should go too. I'll see you around? Text me when you're done with practice, maybe we can have dinner together."

"I'd like that. Thank you, Jeno. Really."

Jeno winks. Donghyuck starts blushing again and Jeno is positive it's because of him this time. "Anytime, baby."

(They hear a squeal from behind them, having promptly forgotten that Jisung was still listening in. Donghyuck bumps his hip against his and Jeno claps his shoulder on his way out. Jisung whips out his phone and types out an incoherent text to Chenle filled with heart emojis and endless AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NOHYUCK!!!s.)

👑

"Jeno Lee," Jaemin calls out from where he stands imposingly on the bleachers, hands on his waist and expression giving nothing away. Jeno marches over, dragging his duffel bag behind him. "Yes, Jaemin Na?"

Jaemin moves aside, revealing a bundled up Donghyuck Lee and making Jeno's heart go whoosh at how adorable Donghyuck looks with messy hair and in a windbreaker a size or two too big for him. "Any reason why your boyfriend is vibing on our bleachers?"

"Can't I come visit my boyfriend?" Donghyuck's tone is whiny and his face is pouty, and tired, semi-sweaty Jeno who had just hobbled out of the changing rooms would like to hide himself away for self-preservation. He is not worthy to stand in front of an angel in his oldest sweatpants and a shirt he's sure hasn't been washed in at least four days.

The angel turns to him and smiles timidly. "I wanted to see you practice but you were already done when I got here," he says mournfully.

"I can go again if you like," Jeno blurts out. He drops his bag on the nearest seat and rummages through it, looking for his skates so he can get back on the ice.

"No, no, Jeno, that's not necessary!" Donghyuck stops him with a hand on his wrist. "I can always come visit some other time! We can have a late lunch if you're up for it."

"Yup. I am up for it. Definitely up for it." Jeno is sure his cheeks are burning, but luckily Donghyuck doesn't comment on it. He smiles at Renjun and Jaemin, apologizing for stealing their friend away.

"We didn't want him anyway," Jaemin grins wolfishly as he waves them toward the exit. Donghyuck pulls Jeno off the bleachers and out the door before he can say something snarky to Jaemin in return.

"Such a shame you couldn't ogle me while I skate," Jeno jokes over lunch, making Donghyuck choke on his turkey sandwich.

"I try to be a supportive boyfriend and this is how I'm treated," Donghyuck grumbles as he steals a chunk of the grilled chicken breast on Jeno's plate.

"I don't think a good boyfriend would pilfer my food."

Donghyuck snickers as he takes another bite of his sandwich. "A good boyfriend wouldn't drink three fourths of the veggie soup we were supposed to share."

"Donghyuck, you hate vegetables."

"Yes, but I still eat them!"

"You stabbed and shredded the salad so many times all that was left were little leaf shards."

"For easier digestion!"

"Don't they get stuck in your teeth if they're too small?"

"Chewing the big leaves makes me feel like cattle."

Jeno sighs. "I can order some more soup if you want."

Donghyuck's nose crinkles in distaste. "I hate veggie soup."

"Goddammit, Donghyuck Lee."

"To be fair, the axel is the hardest jump—at least in my opinion," Donghyuck comments. He cradles his chin in his hand in thought. "Not that I'm an expert or anything—"

"Quad axel?"

"Ah, yes, the mighty 4A. That one day I will conquer. For now, let me offer my humble assistance to you, my troubled darling."

"'Darling' is the best nickname you've given me ever since we started dating."

" _Fake_ dating." A flush crawls up Donghyuck's neck, and Jeno watches it spread on his face smugly. "And I can call you my dearest burger bun if that's what you prefer."

"Don't you dare."

"So you don't want my help?"

"Of course I do, that's why I brought it up," Jeno makes a face at him.

"No need to get frowny, it doesn't match up to your pretty face, Jenny-boo," Donghyuck pats Jeno's hand to placate him. "It would be my pleasure to help you in any way I can. Your axel isn't even that bad, really. Trust me babe, we can get you those 3 and above GOEs!"

"You think they'd ever give us a perfect 5?"

Donghyuck bites down on a celery stick angrily. "Please, the ISU hates small fed and non-Western skaters."

"You know what a good boyfriend would do?" Donghyuck asks as their little feast dwindles down to crumbs. "A good boyfriend would feed me."

Jeno stares at Donghyuck in disbelief. "Are you a baby? Do you want me to chew it for you too?"

"It's a couple thing!"

"And also a thing done when in the presence of an infant. Are you a baby, Hyuck?"

" _Your_ baby." Donghyuck smiles innocently and Jeno proceeds to inhale a grape and get it stuck in his windpipe. The whole restaurant looks at them as Jeno hacks his lungs out, with Donghyuck patting his back and pouring him a glass of water.

"Don't do that Hyuck, oh my god I could have _died."_

"What a loser," Donghyuck rolls his eyes at him. "How are you gonna make fun of me for being flustered by your erotic body when you're embarrassed by pet names in public?"

Jeno hisses at him. "How the hell are you not embarrassed to say things like 'erotic body' in public?!"

Donghyuck tsks. "Unfortunately for you, I am a shameless bastard on occasion. Now, are you done yet? I have to go somewhere in a bit."

"Do you need a ride?"

Donghyuck shakes his head no. "I'm just heading down to the post office to grab something for Chenle. Nothing too big so I won't have any trouble lugging it back to the rink."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Donghyuck leans towards him, eyes bright and shiny. "Race you to the parking lot? Loser buys boba."

Jeno can't help the soft smile that blooms on his face. "Let me finish eating first, yeah?" He picks up a grape and holds it out. "Say 'aaah'."

"Huh?"

"That works too," Jeno says as he pushes the grape in between Donghyuck's plump lips. Donghyuck stares at him dumbfoundedly, jaw slack and grape unswallowed.

"There you go," Jeno brushes himself off as he moves to get up from his seat. "I fed you. Do I get a Good Boyfriend Award now?"

Donghyuck is still speechless, looking at Jeno with equal parts bashfulness and confusion. It's a cute look on him, Jeno decides as he runs out the door, heading straight for the parking lot. After all, the loser buys boba.

👑

"You're early today," Mister Kim, one of the Jincheon security guards, says as he opens the gate for Jeno. "Take it easy kid, Worlds is in a month but you won't do too well if you keep pushing yourself."

"Thanks Mister Kim. This is a one time thing, I promise." When Mister Kim closes the gate, Jeno adds, "If Donghyuck Lee drops by, could you please let him in?"

"Donghyuck Lee?"

Jeno nods. "Do you know him?"

"Do I know him? The entirety of South Korea knows him." Mister Kim laughs and gives Jeno a pat on the back. "Your boyfriend, right? Sure thing kiddo, but no getting frisky in my building, you copy?"

"Roger that. All of our interactions in Jincheon will be strictly business, sir."

"Good boy. Is Doyoung coming?"

"Later at around 9? He, uh, had a wild night."

Mister Kim nods. "Right, right, it was Jaehyun's birthday during the weekend. You sure you'll be okay in there alone? Well, not completely alone, but you know what I mean."

Jeno grins slyly. "Not completely alone? Are there any supernatural spirits in Jincheon you want to talk about, Mister Kim?"

"Maybe when the scaredy-cat is here," Mister Kim winks.

"I'll let you know when Renjun arrives."

"You know where to find me. If something goes wrong, just scream. Jungwoo should be here soon, he'll hear you if you start yelling."

"Noted."

When Jeno comes out of the changing room, he sees a little round head peeking out from the thick bundle of clothing enveloping it. He approaches the cute little thing with the biggest smile on his face, draping his arms down and around the person's neck. "Good morning, Hyuckie."

"Good morning to you, too." Donghyuck leans his head back to look him in the eye. "You're awfully cuddly today."

"It's cold and my boyfriend looks adorable in the puffiest jacket I've ever seen. He looks very soft and huggable."

"Hmmm. And what's the final verdict?"

Jeno squeezes Donghyuck tight. "Donghyuck Lee is indeed very soft and huggable."

"That, he is." Donghyuck laughs as Jeno nuzzles his nose with his own. "You ready?" Donghyuck asks as Jeno removes his arms from around his neck and sits down beside him.

"Yep. Are you ready to see the worst axel technique ever?"

"Again, not the worst. I binge-watched several of your programs last night and I assure you it's an on-again-off-again thing."

Jeno smirks at him. "You binged-watched me?"

"Not the point," Donghyuck mutters under his breath. "But show me what you got, baby."

One hour later and Jeno is making his way towards the boards. Donghyuck is standing by the opening, holding Mumble to his chest. "Jeno Lee, I think I have found your problem," he says, stroking Mumble's fur thoughtfully. "Problems, really, but there's only two so no-biggie."

Jeno puts on his skate guards. "Hit me."

Donghyuck raises a fist and Jeno curls a hand around it, cradling it gently. "Verbally. With constructive criticism."

"Right, okay." Donghyuck doesn't shrug off his hand as he talks. "So you already know about your pre-rotation issues, which honestly isn't that bad? The limit is 120 degrees and yours is around 140 to 150, maybe? We can fix that."

"Alright, and what's the other problem?"

"Your free leg."

"My free leg?"

"Yes. You only pay attention to the push-off leg and your free leg just...dangles. You don't do that with your other jumps so I assume it only happens because you overthink your axels. To jump you have to fly, in a sense, so you have to swing your free leg up." Donghyuck pats his right leg. "I rotate counter-clockwise so I spring using my left. Therefore, my right is the free leg. This goes vice-versa if you rotate clockwise, but well, you don't."

"I do not," Jeno agrees.

"The free leg gives you flow and momentum," Donghyuck continues. "And since you land on the opposite leg from which you started, you have to transfer your center of gravity. That's easier to do with a flexed landing knee and an extended free leg instead of just letting the free leg loose."

"Got it." Jeno lets go of Donghyuck's hand and extends his arms, wiggling his fingers at the plushie barely hanging on in Donghyuck's grip. Donghyuck drops Mumble in Jeno's waiting hands, and Jeno frowns at him for being so rough with Mumble. "Anything else, Coach Lee?"

"You skid sometimes too, but that's because you put too much force in the forward takeoff. It doesn't happen too often so you'll be fine. For now our mission is to balance your push-off and swing-up legs, since you need to be able to do both simultaneously for a good jump."

"Okay. Let's start now—"

"Nope. You should drink some water first, and then we can start."

"Don't you have practice today?" Jeno asks, leaning against the boards as he takes a sip out of the water bottle Donghyuck offers him.

"I do! But I asked the hyungs if I could go later in the afternoon, and they were fine with it."

"Taeil hyung's new, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but he and Johnny hyung have known each other for years! Johnny hyung said he's an amazing jump coach and, well, I really want that 4A. And to fix my occasional flutz."

"You flutz? Huh, I never noticed."

Donghyuck laughs, light and airy. It resounds around the empty rink, setting butterflies off in Jeno's stomach.

Jeno's tummy rumbles and Jeno stops to think. Were those butterflies or was that a wholeass lion? Why is his stomach growling? Did he eat breakfast today?

Donghyuck notices his fingertips fluttering over his abdomen and he frowns as he tugs on Jeno's arm. "Come on, you big baby, we're going to go get you some food. And yes I flutz, why do you think I get so many edge calls?"

Jeno rubs his nape. "To be honest, I don't really like looking at protocols."

"Interesting." Donghyuck stops in the middle of the hallway. "Uh, Jen."

"Yes, Hyuck?"

"...which way is your cafeteria?"

"Vending machine area or semi-healthy food area?"

Donghyuck levels him with a look. "If you bring me to the vending machines I will buy a can of cola just to smack you over the head with it for not eating breakfast when you _know_ you'll be exerting a lot of work today."

Jeno chuckles as he passes Mumble to Donghyuck. "Alright, no need to get so worked up. Did you eat breakfast?" He asks as he smoothes the creases on Donghyuck's forehead away.

"Duh."

"Because your coaches will reprimand you if you don't?"

Donghyuck smiles cheekily at him, giving Mumble's big head a squeeze. "No comment."

Donghyuck picks at the remaining peas on Jeno's plate. "What time is Coach Kim coming?"

"Around 9 a.m. He has Grown Up Things to take care of before he drops by the rink."

"Grown Up Things such as?"

"A hangover."

"Ah."

Jeno pushes his plate away and stands up, extending a hand towards Donghyuck. Hyuck takes it and uses it to pull himself up, picking up Mumble from the seat they'd set him on. "A penguin," Donghyuck muses as they walk back to the rink area. "I remember your Happy Feet exhibition program back when we were young and carefree."

"The good old days."

"Baby Jeno waddling across the ice, very fitting."

"I remember baby Donghyuck singing the Ben 10 theme song as loud as he can when we still shared a skating club."

"Ben 10 is cool!" Donghyuck exclaims. "I still have the watch."

"Still ready to go hero?"

Donghyuck beams at him. The sky is still dim outside and the sun hides behind the clouds, but Jeno feels its warmth from the grin of the boy standing next to him. "For you, Jen? Anytime."

⛸

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2021 WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS (mens / dance)

March 28, 2021

Worlds was held this week in Stockholm, Sweden from the 22nd to the 28th of March and boy, what a ride it was. If you weren't staying tuned, this rundown might keep you on the edge of your seat—the results certainly woke up something in me, and with the end of this season we begin to acknowledge (if we haven't yet) how bright the future of figure skating is.

**All Eyes on Pyeongchang**

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. If you're new here, you'll quickly realize that the Olympics are a Pretty Big Deal, as it is a quadrennial event; it only happens once every four years, the perfect place to showcase changes and growth. There were lots of underdog stories, but in my opinion the biggest "glo-up" (as the cool kids call it nowadays) belonged to Korea—both South and North. South Korea boasted its young talents (singles skaters **Junhwan Cha** , **Dabin Choi** , and **Hanul Kim** were all teenagers while pairs team **Kyueun Kim and Alex Kam** and ice dancer team **Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin** were all 90s babies, in their early twenties during Pyeongchang) while North Korea gave us the fabulous pair team of **Taeok Ryom and Jusik Kim** . Arguably the stars of the show, the first North Korean figure skaters to win an ISU medal ended up at a respectable 13th place finish. Although South Korea initially failed to secure a spot for the Olympics at Worlds 2017, a second chance came up at Nebelhorn Trophy 2017 where **Junehyoung Lee** earned the men's skaters a golden ticket to the Olympics. (South Korea would have been given the host spot per discipline anyway, but it's always nice to acquire it through perseverance.)

**Results**

Let's start with what everyone's been waiting for: the men's results. As expected of one of the greatest athletes of all time, **Yuzuru Hanyu** leads the charge for gold with a monstrous 356.28 points and garnering three new world records: highest combined total, highest short program score (117.89), and highest free program score (238.39). **Nathan Chen** nabs silver with a formidable 330.76, while **Donghyuck Lee** snatches bronze with a rotated 4A, becoming the second skater to attempt the jump in international competition. Donghyuck fell on it at the last second but it was still four and a half turns in the air, giving him a hefty 324.25. His 4A is coming along very well, and we're all hoping for a clean one very soon.

 **Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron** stand atop the podium for ice dance, scoring a grand total of 234.63. In second place are **Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin** , the rising stars and current fan favorites. Stepanova/Bukin win both the crowd and the judges over with their sultry short and poignant free programs, earning themselves 228.76 points. Third goes to **Madison Chock and Bates** and their 223.81 points, which could have been higher had they not made that disastrous mistake on their twizzle sequence. Fourth place deserves a shoutout too; **Renjun Huang and Jaemin Na** serve up 221.36, just a couple of points away from a podium finish.

**New Hope For Beijing**

With Donghyuck and Jeno Lee's 3rd and 8th finishes at this year's Worlds respectively, South Korea successfully grabs two spots for men's for the 2022 Winter Olympics happening in Beijing, China. Huang/Na's pewter medal also earns South Korea two spots for ice dance, making it the first time South Korea is able to send more than one ice dance entry to the Olympic Games. Find the list of all the qualified countries and how many entries they earned here, but remember that this isn't the end for those who weren't able to make the quota; the ISU Challenger Series' Nebelhorn Trophy holds the key to the remaining Olympic spots, and though countries only get one spot regardless of placement, it's still better than nothing.

**Happenstances**

With the season closing, I feel like I should end this article on a happy note just as the 2020-2021 skating season did. There were piles of gifts thrown on the ice for almost everyone, but the legendary Pooh rain reigns supreme. The medal ceremony brought about tears as figure skating veteran **Carolina Koster** wears one last medal before retirement (but we delve deeper into that in the ladies' and pairs' article ) but it is balanced by humor as Nathan Chen trips on the carpet on his way to the podium and Donghyuck Lee saunters over to hang his well-deserved medal around (now confirmed) boyfriend Jeno Lee's neck, among other things. The banquet is always held privately, though we do get occasional peeks inside through the skaters' social media accounts, such as this drunk Huang/Na challenging each other to a dance-off, recorded by none other than our resident TikToker **Boyang Jin**. And the gala exhibition goes off without a hitch, hosting memories of tears and fond faces, sad smiles and laughter. This season was certainly a wild ride, and I'm excited for what comes next.

☀️

"You sure you don't want to keep this?" Jeno asks Donghyuck as they pack their belongings. They'd managed to convince their respective coaches to share a room, and Donghyuck for one was glad to be rid of Chenle and Jisung's prying into his and Jeno's "relationship", even just for a week. Not much has gone on, anyway; they argued over whether they should explore the tastes of Sweden or if they should settle for McDonald's meals for the duration of their stay, they went sightseeing and embarked on an aquarium visit, and they got lost in Johanneshov. Just regular tourist things— the only difference was that they were holding hands while doing so.

"Keep what?"

"This." Jeno raises Donghyuck's first senior Worlds medal, still shiny, still bronze. Donghyuck frowns at it slightly. Don't get him wrong—he's glad that he even made the podium, but the golden one looks really nice. Really, _really_ nice.

His eyes drift to Jeno's bare torso, a sight he wasn't expecting to see so soon but he's definitely not complaining. He's holding up the medal and it looks great, but the gold one would have looked stunning on him, especially with his skin tone.

Donghyuck nods his head in resolution. It's decided then—he'll win a gold one to hang around Jeno's neck next.

"You sure?"

"Huh?" Jeno's confused tone brings Donghyuck out of his reverie.

"You nodded," Jeno says slowly. "Does that mean you want me to keep it?"

"Yeah, sure," Donghyuck stutters. In all honesty he'd very much like the medal back, but he doesn't know how to phrase that in a way that doesn't contradict his gesture of giving it to him in the first place. "All yours, boyfie."

"No way, you won this fair and square." Jeno walks towards Donghyuck, past the beds they'd squished together to accommodate cuddles. Donghyuck's surprised Jeno even remembered he liked cuddles. "I'd feel bad if I kept it."

"It's a show of my love for you, darling! Of how you're the inspiration." Donghyuck sings the last part to the tune of the famous Chicago song.

"That's bullshit. Not your love!" Jeno backtracks. "Your love isn't bullshit! I want your love!"

Donghyuck's face heats up when Jeno stands in front of him in all his half naked glory. "The keeping your medal part is bullshit," Jeno clarifies. He cups Donghyuck's hands together and presses the circular metal against Donghyuck's palms, looking into Hyuck's eyes with so much intensity that Donghyuck feels like his face is on fire. "This is yours, Hyuck, and I know you're proud of it." 

Donghyuck casts his gaze onto the bronze medal now in his hands, burnished and cold to the touch. Seeing it doesn't make Donghyuck mad, or sad. Instead it fuels him with desire to become better, to be worthy of gold one day.

Maybe he should keep it after all.

Donghyuck raises his eyes to meet Jeno's. "How about I take this back, but I give you the free program small medal? That one's silver."

"I know it is," Jeno smiles at him, the signature eye smile that makes the world swoon. It's softer somehow though, toned down but overflowing with sincerity. "If I had a medal too I would have traded you for it. I'll win you one next time."

"We have to both be on the podium next time, alright? So we can be disgustingly in love in front of the ISU's oldies."

"Will do. We can do that arm heart thing for fanservice."

"Cutesy couple things," Donghyuck hums as he fishes out his small silver medal from his 2nd place free skate finish, putting the bronze one in its place. "Here you go, my lovely moose."

"Moose?"

"Get it? Because Sweden's national animal is the Moose! But also because you're my muse!"

Jeno stares at him blankly. "And I'm the unfunny one?"

Donghyuck huffs. "I thought you'd appreciate it."

"Eh, it was kind of cute, I guess. Mostly because the one telling the joke is cute."

"Cute." Donghyuck turns away from Jeno and busies himself with stuffing what's left of his items into his luggage. "Hurry up packing so we can get some shut-eye before tomorrow's flight back home."

"And so we can cuddle?"

Donghyuck stops shoving his clothing around to make more room in his suitcase to give Jeno the stink eye. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Nope," Jeno says, smile too bright for 11 p.m. "Just checking."

"It was nice, you know. Having someone dedicate a win to you."

Donghyuck looks up at Jeno from where he's tucked into his side, eyes half closed and voice scratchy. "What?"

"The medal gesture," Jeno says, fiddling with a couple of strands of Donghyuck's hair. "It was nice."

"Nice," Donghyuck echoes, his surroundings starting to fade away as he lets himself be lulled to sleep. 

"It was a cute publicity stunt."

"Cute," Donghyuck hums. And then he forces his eyes open, pulling his body up from the soft mattress. "Wait, what?"

"What is it?" Jeno sits up as well, looking at Donghyuck with concern. "Is something wrong, Hyuckie?"

"Whaddaya mean by publicity stunt?" Donghyuck's voice is still a bit slurred from sleep, and he clears his throat. "Who told you it was a publicity stunt?"

"No one? I just assumed—"

"Well, it's not." Donghyuck burrows himself under the covers. "How dare you," he grumbles, clearly upset. 

Jeno gently pulls the comforter off of Donghyuck. "Hyuckie—"

"I'm starting to hate this fake dating thing because whenever I do something nice for you you think it's an act," Donghyuck says as he pulls the comforter back over himself, his tone filled with sadness. Jeno stops trying to pry the linen away from Hyuck.

"I don't think that," Jeno whispers. "Not always."

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes."

Donghyuck pulls the comforter down so he can stare at Jeno. "It wasn't a publicity stunt," he reiterates. "I didn't want it to be a publicity stunt."

"Okay."

"You got that, Jen?"

"I'm sorry." Jeno's mouth is turned down in a deep frown. "I didn't mean to imply that this isn't genuine."

"What is _this_ , exactly?"

"The fake dating thing. I care about you a lot, Donghyuck. I get really giddy when commercial directors ask me to put my arms around you or some sappy shit, and when people ask me about you—how you're doing, what you're up to, if we're really dating—I feel my heart swell. Seeing you makes my day. Seeing you smile makes my day glorious. Seeing you happy makes me happy. I like it when we hold hands and hug and cuddle and kiss and—I like you."

"...me?"

"You," Jeno mumbles, pulling the comforter down enough for him to see Donghyuck's bewildered expression. "Just you."

Donghyuck blinks at him owlishly, at a complete loss for words. In his defense, it's—Donghyuck glances at the wall clock on the opposite wall—2 a.m., and he's tired from all the packing. His thought process is muddled, and all he can think about is how thoughtful it is of Jeno to throw on a shirt whenever they cuddle so he doesn't get uncomfortable. Tonight's shirt is sleeveless though, and Jeno's biceps and triceps and all the ceps are very well toned—

"Hyuck?"

Donghyuck hums to let Jeno know he's still awake and listening. 

Jeno's anxious expression morphs into understanding. "You're sleepy," he says as he lays down right next to Donghyuck. "We can talk about this some other time. Get some rest, Hyuckie."

Donghyuck almost agrees, but when Jeno starts tucking them both in he comes to his senses. "No, wait, I wanna talk now!" He exclaims just as he lets out a yawn.

Jeno smiles fondly. "You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes! I like you too," Donghyuck announces in the least sleepiest tone he can muster. "I've liked you for a long time."

"So have I."

"Bet I liked you for longer."

Jeno chuckles, his chest vibrating with the laugh. Donghyuck leans against it as Jeno pats his arm gently. "Sure you have."

"I have!"

"Sure," Jeno indulges him. "Now sleep."

"No."

"No?"

"No! We have to do something, Jen. I refuse to have my feels reciprocraptor—"

"Reciprocated."

"Yeah, that word. I refuse to have my feelings be mutual and still wake up to a fake boyfriend."

"You want a real boyfriend?"

"Yeah!"

"Then go out with me." Jeno grins cheekily, and Donghyuck doesn't think much of it. "Yeah!"

"Congrats, Hyuckie, you have a real boyfriend now! Now please rest."

"Yeah, okay."

A minute later, Donghyuck lets out a whine. "That's not fair, I wanted to ask first."

Jeno laughs out loud this time. "Too bad."

Donghyuck pouts at him. "Can we redo it when we wake up?"

"Are you gonna take the silver small medal out of my bag and use it to boyfriend-propose?"

"Maybe. Stop reading my mind, Jeno Lee."

"Stop being so cute, Donghyuck Lee."

"Your boyfriend."

Jeno kisses his temple tenderly. "My boyfriend."

⛸

skatingstarchenle.tumblr.com

April 18, 2021

Dear internet, I write to you today to complain about many things. No, I am not complaining about culture shock or about how I regret moving to Korea, fuck you, TSS. 

I will enumerate my woes one by one. Exhibit A:

in which you, the readers, encouraged me to do a YouTube live on Renjun and Jaemin hyung's channel with either Hyuckie hyung or Jisung. We put up a poll, and Hyuckie hyung lost. However! In my opinion he was the real winner, because I was stuck with this lanky beanpole who was not at all helpful, and the directors who were supposed to be keeping order were the ones mucking around. See Exhibit B(s):

(that last pic is admittedly very cute but sirs. SIRS. THOSE ARE OUR PROPS, SIRS. WHAT ARE THEY DOING ON YOUR HEADS)

Hyuckie hyung, if you see this, I would like to congratulate you for escaping the shit show that livestream was. It was fun, but I was stressed. See how badly they treated the baby, _your_ baby. Give the hyungs and Pwark a piece of your mind, thank you. Love you.

Exhibit C:

Look at this. Look at what my young, virgin eyes are subjected to. Disgusting.

(I'm kidding, they're actually really cute but when this shit is what you see every week when your friends hang out during the weekend it makes you feel excruciatingly single.)

This one. THIS ONE. What the fuck. Oh, to have someone pat your head lovingly as you fashionably lie down on a sea wall with the sunset behind you. Blergh.

Oh, and I have something adorable to show you all! I found pictures of our beloved Korean men's single skaters from their junior days! Exhibit D:

Cute lil beans, LOOK AT JENO HYUNG'S APPLE HAIR 🥺🥺🥺 Aren't they just precious? Geez, I wonder what happened.

Before I end this post, I would like to announce that I have decided on my short program music! Last season I skated to ONE OK ROCK's Deeper Deeper, one of my favorite rock songs. This season however, I will be taking on a much poppier sound. I can't say much or else my coaches will give me the "didn't we tell you to wait" looks, but I will be skating to a c-pop song! Guess which one 😏

That's all for this week, 再见，保重！

Chenle ☆☆☆

**Author's Note:**

> [1] Opining on 2016 Korean Nationals: A new era begins? (2016, January 11). Rocker Skating. Retrieved February 02, 2020 from https://www.rockerskating.com/news/2016/1/10/opining-on-2016-korean-nationals-a-new-era-begins
> 
> some more disclaimers:  
> 》crockerskating and The Skating Session are based off rockerskating and The Skating Lesson respectively! Yes, I do not like TSL. If they are ooc then I do not care, because absolutely nothing can make me sit down and listen to even just one episode. Yes, I would like to burn down the ISU but at this point don't we all? (fs twitter I'm looking at you)  
> 》I didn't mean to like...accidentally delete the entirety of Team Korea T___T It made more sense if the other current Team Korea members were idols too (also I REALLY wanted to give my son Felix a medal) so here we are  
> 》I tried to tone down the Fanyuism but obviously that did not happen. No, Yuzuru hasn't landed the 4A yet (but we might see it sometime soon!!! Lmao I remember when the words "yonkaiten axel" struck fear in me and now when I hear it I am somehwat chill.) Let's go 4A!!!  
> 》As of writing this, Carolina Kostner has not retired! She took a break during the 2019-2020 season and NO I do not think (at least, I do not hope) she will be retiring soon! If she does you will find me in tears  
> 》As of finishing this work, the 2020 World Figure Skating Championships have been cancelled due to COVID-19. I hope for everyone's safety and health during these trying times.
> 
> twt: [@whatsavotingacc](https://twitter.com/whatsavotingacc?s=09)


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